Chair of Weddin Landcare Steering Committee, James Maslin, has welcomed funding from the Landcare NSW Natural Disaster Seed Fund this week to help with re-vegetation drought recovery projects in the local community.
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Mr Maslin said the funding will help landholders re-establish and replant Landcare tree corridors that were affected by the drought.
"This funding will help landholders who participated in the Weddin Landcare Environmental Grants program in 2016-2017 to replace a portion of the plants they lost during the recent drought," Mr Maslin said.
"The original seven projects were aimed at addressing biodiversity decline and riverbank stabilisation through the establishment or enhancement of native vegetation corridors across around 14 hectares.
"Unfortunately, due to the drought, we've had significant vegetation losses with up to 800 trees dying across the seven sites.
"It's disheartening to see all that time and effort lost in just a few years, but the funding will help begin the recovery process and revive the project and the spirits of the project participants."
The funds will be used to purchase 350 trees and understorey plants from the Weddin Community Native Nursery as well as tree guards and stakes, helping to support the local economy.
Weddin Landcare was one of 16 Landcare organisations who received funding from Landcare NSW.
Landcare NSW CEO, Dr Adrian Zammit said the funding will help support Landcare groups such as Weddin Landcare to re-establish projects and sites that have been affected by drought and bushfires.
"It is so important to support our NSW Landcare community through these times. With so much damage and loss, this is just one small way we are supporting our communities back to recovery," Dr Zammit said.
"As the state peak body for Landcare, our aim is to provide resources to help Landcarers in NSW to care for our land, environment and communities. By releasing 100% of the funds from our fundraising appeal we are ensuring that our communities have the support and resources they need to deal with the challenges.
"Our communities have experienced incredible hardship over the past couple of years and these projects are a way of bringing all members of our community together to recover."
These projects are supported by Landcare NSW as part of funding received through the Landcare NSW Natural Disaster Seed Fund.